Celebrate Record Store Day

April 18, 2020

Saturday, April 18th, 2020, is Record Store Day, an annual event started over a decade ago to celebrate the role these independently owned stores play in their community and the unique culture they create. The festivities include anything from artist meet and greets, to parades, and exclusive deals at thousands of record stores all around the world. Check out your local record store to see what they have going on, or see the list of participating stores on the Record Store Day’s website. The Secret Agent Supply happens to be located right next door to one of the participating stores, Shuga Records, and we feel like getting involved in this wonderful celebration of music, community, and independent businesses! So, of course, here are some of our book recommendations all about music.

Surround Sound, Volume 1

826CHI’s Teen Press Corps attended the 2019 Pitchfork Music Festival prepared to interview artists, take in the performances, write about their experiences, and this is the fantastic result. This anthology of music journalism contains a collection of artist profiles, short essays, and interviews all about music, memory, and the way they shape young identity. These stories will cause you to remember your first experiences with music, and rediscover your love of it.

The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic by Jessica Hopper

If you want to read something that explores the last two decades of music in America, then this is the book for you. This collection spans twenty years of Jessica Hopper’s career as a music critic and includes album reviews, essays, interviews, and oral histories that explore music, the culture around it, and how the industry has changed. This work will remind readers what it means to be obsessed with music.

Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest by Hanif Abdurraqib

This work is basically a love letter from the author to the rap group A Tribe Called Quest, where he digs into their past and connects the music to their cultural impact. In doing so, he marks the drastic changes within the genre during the 90s that still shape the music industry today. The author shows the lasting impact music can have on people and reminds readers of the large place it can have in their lives.

Long Players: A Love Story in Eighteen Songs by Peter Coviello

If you are looking for a story that reads like a novel while blending in the importance of music in a person’s life, then this is the book for you. Follow this author’s story of love and heartbreak, the way music helps him understand his place in the world, and the power of pop music. This book really takes the idea of having a soundtrack to your life to a whole new level.